Enacting the proposed policy
Underage drinking is a prevalent problem in the United States. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act and implementation of both federal and state taxes have been key advocacy campaigns that aim to curb this issue. However, these campaigns have not been effective as the effects of underage drinking are still prevalent today. In the attempt of eradicating this problem, the study suggested that a policy aiming at reducing the exposure levels and stores selling alcohol is more effective. As such, this report aims at pushing for the implementation of this campaign by assessing the mode of enacting this campaign as well as the effect of the existing rules and legislations on this policy.
The most effective way of endorsing this campaign is by changing the existing laws guarding the way alcohol is exposed and sold to the young people. These rules should focus on the alcohol advertisement since it is a major source of alcohol information accessible to the youths. According to Simon (2008), the exposure of youth to alcohol advertisement is on the rise following the ease of advertisements on the Internet, TV, radio as well as magazines. According to this study, the alcohol exposure to the youths through TV in U.S. rose by 41% percent since 2001 to 2005 (Simon, 2008). In this case, the more exposed the kids are, the more likelihood that they will drink. Collins, et al. (2016) add that alcohol exposure through advertisement initiates drinking and increase the levels of consumption of most of the underage drinkers. These claims reveal that there is a need for the proper intervention of the alcohol exposure to the young people.
By setting a new rule of the alcohol advertisement, the government will be regulating the extent to which alcohol producing companies should carry their marketing and advertisement practices. The alcohol industry is guided by self-regulatory procedures that ensure that more adults are the ones that access advertisement information rather than the youths (Collins, et al., 2016). However, these procedures are not sufficient to prevent the alcohol exposure to youth; thus the need for changing these rules. To effectively change these rules, the policymakers need to understand the commonly used media for advertising alcohol and is more accessible to youths. This assessment helps the policy makers to determine the effective way of reducing their advertisements as well as the role that parents play in limiting the alcohol exposure to the youths.
Another effective policy change to make is by controlling the alcohol selling points. In the attempt of facilitating this policy change, the policy makers should carry major interventions that will ensure that the alcohol exposure to youths is reduced. According to Ames and Spera (2011), policy makers should carry at least three operations annually by verifying the identification of the drinkers. Moreover, the policy makers should carry compliance checks each year at the alcohol retailers to ensure that alcohol is not sold to the underage youths. Making these moves ensures that selling of alcohol to the underage youths is controlled.
Some laws and regulations impact the urge of restricting and reducing the exposure of the alcohol to the underage youths positively and negatively. In a positive perspective, Simon (2008) asserts that some organizations such as Marin Institute and Bay Area Rapid Transit have lobbied city officials to ban alcohol ads around their properties. Besides, the laws and regulations that facilitate the invention and research on the alcohol powder counter this proposed policy. The affordability of this form of alcohol promotes the access that youths have over alcohol. This counters the attempts of the government to regulate the alcohol selling point as youth can carry these powders to school, home, or concert venues (Warren, Tay, & Wen, 2016). Nevertheless, alcohol laws in some states such as Alaski and South Carolina have banned powdered alcohol. These laws promote this campaign and are important in leading it to success.
With the existence of these effects, it is important to determine the effective approach to take and influence the policymakers to endorse the proposed policy. This calls for a sound understanding of the three-legged stool, which is an important tool once the lawmaking process has been understood (Milstead, 2012). The first leg is the professional lobbyists that will involve an expert to convince the government to endorse the proposed policy. In facilitating the efforts of the professional lobbyists, I will become a member of these professional organizations and ensure that I play a significant role in these organizations. The second leg refers to the grassroots lobbyists. In this case, I would use a grassroots lobbyist to take part in pushing for the proposed policy, as it may take years before the policy is passed (Milstead, 2012). Having the right individual for this task implies that it the lobbyist will dedicate his time to follow the proceedings of the proposed policy and make effective decisions regarding the policy. Getting the right individual who possesses these skills is a key challenge that I expect to face; thus, I wish to outsource two lobbyists who will represent me in this procedure. The final leg is the role of money in passing the policy (Milstead, 2012). In this case, I will provide the prerequisite financial support to the involved entities for them to push the policy on my behalf. However, I expect to face a challenge of getting sufficient funds to finance these entities. As such, I intend to convince the management to be my sponsor in the entire process.
Indeed, policymaking process in nursing is an important aspect that facilitates the provision of quality healthcare. In the current report, passing the policy of restricting the alcohol selling points and its exposure to the underage youths. By changing the existing advertisement laws and regulations, it will be easy to control this exposure; thus countering the effect, that alcohol use has over this generation.
References
Ames, G.M., & Spera, C., (2011). Prevention in the military: Early results of an environmental strategy. Alcohol Research & Health, 34(2), 180-184.
Collins, R.L., Martino, S.C., Kovalchik, S.A., Becker, K.M., Shadel, W.G., & D’Amico, E., (2016). Alcohol advertising exposure among middle school-age youth: An assessment across media values, Journal of Studies on Alcohol Drugs, 77(3), 384-392.
Milstead, J. A. (2012). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Simon, M., (2008). Reducing youth exposure to alcohol ads: Targeting public transit. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 85(4), 506-517.
Warren, K.E., Tay, S., & Wen, L.S., (2016). Patient and public risks of powdered alcohol: A citywide case study to prevent abuse. Annals of Internal Medicine, 164(10), 685-688.
